9 November 2017

57 Dublin councillors call for new Children’s Hospital to be named after 1916 hero Dr Kathleen Lynn

● Dr Kathleen Lynn

» John Hedges

An Phoblacht Editor

The 57 councillors signed the letter in City Hall, where Kathleen Lynn was stationed in 1916

ARDMHÉARA
Bhaile Átha Cliath Mícheál Mac Donncha has led 57 Dublin City councillors in a
call for the new Children’s Hospital to be named after Dr Kathleen Lynn,
pioneering founder of St Ultan’s Children’s Hospital and a veteran of the 1916
Rising.

Councillor Mac Donncha (pctured) has written to the
National Paediatric Hospital Development Board to formally make the call in a
letter signed by 57 of the 63 Dublin City councillors.

He said:

“The vast majority of members of Dublin City
Council fully support the proposal that the new Children’s Hospital should be
named after Dr Kathleen Lynn.

“We are urging the Board to adopt this name
in preference to the name currently being put forward, the Phoenix. This
proposed name has been widely questioned already, given that another health
facility in the city bears this name and also that there is a Phoenix
Children’s Hospital in the USA.

“We believe that the most appropriate name
for the new hospital should be in honour of Dr Kathleen Lynn, a pioneering
medical doctor who worked tirelessly for decades for the health and well-being
of the children of Dublin and Ireland.

“Dr Kathleen Lynn established St Ultan’s
Children’s Hospital to care for the children of the poor of Dublin. She and her
dedicated co-workers undoubtedly saved the lives of thousands of children.

“Kathleen’s Lynn’s medical and social work
was in line with her deep patriotism which saw her active during the 1913
Lockout and as Chief Medical Officer of the Irish Citizen Army. In that
capacity she served in the 1916 Rising in our City Hall, where she attended the
dying ICA Captain Seán Connolly, one of the first casualties of the Rising.”

He said that naming the hospital after
Kathleen Lynn “would send out a signal that the new hospital is in the best
traditions of Irish medical and social care, as well as honouring a great
Irishwoman who continues to inspire today”.

The 57 councillors signed the letter in City
Hall, where Kathleen Lynn was stationed in 1916.